joi, 16 martie 2017

U.S. Military Power in Syria May Increase by 1000 Troops as Russia Bombs ISIS

Newsweek

Mar 16, 2017

The Pentagon has considered increasing the U.S. military presence in
Syria by up to 1,000 troops as the international battle to oust the
Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, from their de facto capital of
Raqqa heats up. The U.S. has already deployed about 500 U.S. Special
Operations forces, 250 Rangers and 200 Marines to Syria in order to
bolster the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which
liberated the northern Syrian city of Manbij from ISIS last year,
according to The Washington Post. The city has become a symbol of the
various lines of control that have emerged throughout Syria's six-year
civil war as Moscow brokered an agreement earlier this month through
which the SDF voluntarily conceded defense lines to the Russia-backed
Syrian army. Read More

Get Ready, America: Russia Has Its Own Deadly 'Delta Force'

Incorporating
lessons from Western special operations forces (SOF), the Kremlin had
established its own equivalent of the U.S. Army’s elite 1st Special
Forces Operational Detachment-Delta—better known as Delta Force. This
new force is called Special Operations Command, known by its Russian
acronym as KSSO. The Russian General Staff first announced the creation
of this command in March 2013. Though it is relatively young, the new
force have been quick learners and has accumulated a fairly significant
amount of combat experience during its short existence. Indeed, while
the KSSO is likely not as lavishly funded as Delta or the U.S. Navy’s
elite DEVGRU (better known as SEAL Team Six), the Russian

The National Interest

Amid probe, Pakistan bars German CEO of national carrier from leaving country

By
Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan has barred the
German chief executive of Pakistan International Airlines from leaving
the country due to an investigation into corruption at the loss-making
carrier, the interior minister said on Wednesday. Chaudhry Nisar Ali
Khan said Bernd Hildenbrand has been put on the "exit control list"
(ECL), which forbids individuals from leaving the country, due to an
ongoing probe into the lease of planes from a Sri Lankan carrier.
"(Hildenbrand's) name was placed on ECL some two or three days back,"
Khan told reporters in Karachi, outlining concerns about management of
PIA.

Reuters

Adopting IS tactic, Iraqi forces weaponise small drones

Inside
an armoured vehicle in Mosul, a colonel scans live footage from a drone
flying above the Iraqi city, hunting targets for a new weapon deployed
against jihadists. The Islamic State group has used small commercial
drones to drop explosives on advancing Iraqi forces since they launched
the offensive to retake Iraq's second city in October. As the battle now
focuses on recapturing west Mosul, Colonel Hussein Muayad's federal
police forces have adopted the tactic, equipping their own
remote-controlled surveillance drones with 40 mm grenades that are
usually fired from grenade launchers.